PHOENIX ÷ When Democratic delegates from across the country roll into Boston this summer for the national convention to select their party's presidential candidate, not all the red, white and blue on the floor will be purely patriotic.

For at least two of the delegates heading out of Tucson, the colors will reflect their close ties to the UA.

UA research professor and Rep. Ted Downing D-Tucson, and aerospace engineering student Erik Trevino, will go to Beantown to represent Tucson at the Democratic Party's most important gathering. Downing will be sent on behalf of presidential candidate John Kerry, while Trevino, who took the semester off to work for the Wesley Clark campaign, will represent Clark.

Delegates are chosen by party committees within each congressional district. Presidential candidates are allotted delegates according to the number of votes they received in the state's presidential primary by district.

Downing is one of four delegates in his district representing Kerry, and Trevino will share his other district delegation spot with Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez.

Both men said they are honored to represent the university as well as their district at the convention in July.

"I am 61 years old, and I never thought it would happen," Downing said. "It's a wonderful opportunity."

Downing said he hopes to bring Southern Arizona's interests to the forefront during his trip.

"And I promise to carry a Wilbur with me," Downing said, beaming.

Trevino beat a political heavy hitter in his quest for a delegate spot, winning over George Cunningham, the governor's budget and finance deputy chief of staff.

Fund raising for the trip will be his next obstacle, but in the meantime, Trevino is basking in the comments of well-wishers from the party.

"People keep on calling me to congratulate me," Trevino said. "Being a little kid, I didn't realize how big a deal it was going to be."

Trevino got involved in the "Draft Clark" campaign over the summer and said he put in 80 to 100 hours per week on the Clark campaign once he officially announced his candidacy.

From posting campaign signs and campaigning for Clark on the UA campus, to driving around the general and his family on their trip to Tucson, Trevino worked frantically during the drive to help Clark get the nomination.

The delegate spot was just one of the payoffs for putting in such hard work, Trevino said.

"It definitely was worth it to be able to change the course of the direction the country was going and to be able to work for somebody the caliber of General Clark," Trevino said.

Trevino said he will champion issues close to his heart at the convention and at the same time voice the concerns of the entire district.

"Being Hispanic, I am going to try and get the Latino issues on the ticket," Trevino said.

Besides topics like immigration reform and health care, Trevino said he will also bring the perspective of a college student to the table, tackling college funding and loans, among other things. Trevino was surprised to learn that he beat out several political power-wielders.

"Honestly, I believed in myself, but realistically, nobody knew who I was outside the Clark campaign," Trevino said.

But Trevino's hard work and willingness to do anything to garner support for Clark did not go unnoticed, said co-Clark delegate Rodriguez.

"He sold himself to many people because of his dedication," Rodriguez said. "There was nothing that he wouldn't do if asked."

After the convention this summer, Trevino will return to the UA to finish his degree. He said the whole campaign experience has turned him on to political participation and altered the way he views his future.

"I can't really see myself sitting in a cubicle," Trevino said. "This is where my passion is."